"Halo: Reach," the blockbuster prequel to the best-selling video game franchise will leave its mark on the entertainment landscape when it launches worldwide, starting Sept. 14, 2010, and in Japan on Sept. 15. The game had a record number of beta testers and Bungie once again has a winner ready for the world. More about the game:

Halo: Reach drops players back into the iconic universe they love so they can experience the birth of the ?Halo? legend. During the past 10 years, the ?Halo? franchise has inspired multiple New York Times best-selling novels, comic books, action figures, apparel and more, and it has sold more than 34 million games worldwide to date.

Consumers Help Make History With Record-Breaking ?Halo: Reach? Beta

As a testament to the anticipation for its release, more than 2.7 million ?Halo? fans helped make entertainment history this month by participating in the ?Halo: Reach? multiplayer beta on Xbox LIVE, making it the largest console video game beta test on record and more than triple the size of the ?Halo 3? beta. Players completed more than 13 million online games and logged over 16 million hours of online gameplay, amounting to over 1,826 years of total play time in just over a two-week period. The data and user feedback gathered from the beta will help Bungie and Microsoft further refine the game and deliver a blockbuster experience that fans have come to expect from the ?Halo? franchise.

?Halo: Reach? follows the story of Noble Team, a squad of heroic Spartan soldiers as they make their final stand on planet Reach, humanity?s last line of defense between the terrifying Covenant and Earth. Representing the best-in-class multiplayer elements that have become the hallmark of the ?Halo? series, ?Halo: Reach? offers the most action-packed multiplayer experience yet on Xbox LIVE. The ?Halo: Reach? experience is completed with an intense campaign, an unparalleled suite of features and stunning new visuals powered by groundbreaking new technology.

?Halo: Reach? is available for preorder in standard, limited and legendary editions at participating retailers worldwide. The standard edition has an estimated retail price of $59.99 (U.S.), and the limited and legendary editions of the game will retail for $79.99 and $149.99 (U.S.), respectively. The limited and legendary editions of ?Halo: Reach? are packed with extras that fans won?t want to miss. The centerpiece of the legendary edition is a 10-inch-tall, hand-painted and individually molded Noble Team statue crafted by the expert artisans at McFarlane Toys. As a special bonus, fans can receive a token to unlock an exclusive in-game Spartan Recon Helmet, by picking up a copy of the game on launch day at North American retail stores, and outside of North America by making a pre-order reservation at participating retailers.